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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 301

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 17, 2024 02:00PM
  • Apr/17/24 2:39:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when we got elected, the first thing we did was raise taxes on the wealthiest 1% and lower them for the middle class, a measure that the Conservative Party voted against. We have continued to invest in young people and to invest in a national housing strategy after the previous government completely ignored housing. The former housing minister, who is now Leader of the Opposition, was responsible for creating exactly six affordable homes in his time as minister. We have continued to invest and we are going to continue to make sure that the economy is fair for every generation. That means asking the wealthiest to pay a little more so we can put more money in the pockets of the middle class.
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  • Apr/17/24 2:40:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has got to stop getting his facts from his incompetent housing minister's Twitter account. This is the same guy who, as immigration minister, lost track of a million people. When I was housing minister, we built 92,782 new apartment units, with an average rent of $973. How many apartments will the Prime Minister build at the price of $972 a month this year?
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  • Apr/17/24 2:41:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our housing plan is the most ambitious and comprehensive in Canada's history. It will unlock close to four million homes by 2031. This will happen because we are working with municipalities and we are working with provinces to increase the levels of ambition. We have put out the most comprehensive and ambitious housing plan this country has ever seen because we know that making sure that young people can afford a home, making sure we change the way homes are built in this country, is about building a stronger future for everyone in this country. That is what fairness for every generation looks like. That is what the government is focused on, while Conservatives are focused on cuts.
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  • Apr/17/24 2:41:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we will cut the rent. When I was the minister of housing, we paid half as much for rent in Canada as we pay today. On the question of the Prime Minister's ambitious housing plan, I decided to read all about it in the Liberals' 2015 platform. They said, “We will make it easier for Canadians to find an affordable place to call home.” That was nine years ago. They have doubled the cost since that promise was made, and then they repeated the promise yesterday. Why would we expect the same promise, with the same programs and the same Prime Minister to be kept this time?
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  • Apr/17/24 2:42:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I was in Vancouver a few weeks ago to speak with young people about the fact that we are supporting renters with greater protections and by making sure that the money they spend every month on rent actually gets counted in their credit scores to help them get a mortgage in the future. Our housing plan will unlock 3.87 million new homes by cutting red tape, by reforming zoning, by lowering the costs of homebuilding and by using public lands and vacant government offices for housing. We are making it easier to save up for a tax-free down payment. We are helping end chronic homelessness and making homes more affordable. We are going to continue doing the work—
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  • Apr/17/24 2:43:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is going to turn public buildings and land into housing. I wonder where he got that idea. Let me quote, “We will conduct an inventory of all available federal lands and buildings that could be repurposed, and make some of these lands available at low cost for affordable housing”. That is from his 2015 platform. Now, nine years later, he can only point to 13 homes on those public lands. Yesterday, he promised a “rapid review” of all the federal land portfolios. How rapid, another nine years?
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  • Apr/17/24 2:44:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister blamed immigration for housing costs and the immigration minister who caused it all. Then he made that minister responsible for housing. Since that time, the minister has had a $4-billion housing accelerator program that he admits will not build any specific homes. In fact, since it began, housing starts have gone down this year, and his housing agency says they will go down next year and the year after that. How is it that the Prime Minister can spend $4 billion on a housing accelerator program that decelerates homebuilding?
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  • Apr/17/24 2:45:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to talk about the housing accelerator program, because it stands in direct contrast to any plan that the Leader of the Opposition has put forward to pick fights with municipalities and provinces on housing. We are actually stepping up with investments and allowing for more densification, for four units as of right, to make sure there is better use of public lands, including by municipalities and provinces. We are making sure we are changing the math around building affordable homes to unlock millions of homes over the coming years. This is the work that we are doing right across the country with people who are ambitious about solving the housing crisis. If the Leader of the Opposition does not want to help solve it, he needs to keep getting out of the way.
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  • Apr/17/24 2:46:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it was solved when rent was $973 a month, until he came along, but this is more proof that he is not worth the cost after nine years. He is blaming the whole world. If the world were to blame for the housing problems in Canada, then why is it that housing here is 50% to 75% more expensive than in the United States? Why is it that housing costs have risen faster than in any other G7 country relative to incomes? Why is it that we have the fewest homes per capita, despite having the most land and the most lumber? Why is that? Is it him?
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  • Apr/17/24 2:50:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, because of his centralizing ideology, this Prime Minister has declared that housing is a federal responsibility. That means the results are his responsibility. Montreal has seen a 200% increase in rental costs over the nine years this Prime Minister has been in power. He is not worth the cost. All his interfering in the jurisdictions of Quebec and the other provinces has only succeeded in inflating the cost of housing. Will he take personal responsibility and shoulder the blame for inflating the cost of housing?
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  • Apr/17/24 2:55:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, young Canadians have heard the Prime Minister's broken promises for years. Seven years ago, he promised to fix the housing crisis, but what did he do? He built luxury apartments that no one can afford, and he let speculators drive up the cost of homes. We know he has never had to worry about making the rent. Does he regret the bad decisions he has made that have put us in this mess?
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  • Apr/17/24 2:56:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in 2017, we created the national housing strategy, which put millions of families into homes across the country. We have continued to step up with investments, including last year with the housing accelerator, which has delivered increased densification and is going to be building thousands upon thousands of homes over the coming years. We are continuing to step up in this budget, which is focused on fairness for every generation to make sure young people can again see a pathway to home ownership and can be able to afford rents in the cities in which they work. These are things we are continuing to do because Canadians need it.
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  • Apr/17/24 2:57:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have continued to step up over the past years for reconciliation and investing in indigenous communities. This budget has put aside a billion more dollars on top of all the investments we have made for indigenous housing. That is part of the $9 billion of investments we are talking about for indigenous communities over the coming years. We know there is always more to do, but we will be there, hand in hand, with indigenous communities and leadership to make sure we are closing the gaps and building the strong future that is part of the journey of reconciliation.
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  • Apr/17/24 3:17:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have been hearing from young people in my riding that home ownership is just out of reach. The 2024 budget puts forward the government's housing plan to build more affordable homes faster and to make it more affordable to buy or rent. Can the Prime Minister please share with the House how the government plans to support young people?
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  • Apr/17/24 3:17:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Calgary Skyview for his continued advocacy and hard work. We have put forward the most ambitious housing plan in generations. Our plan will help build more student housing on or by campus, link infrastructure dollars to housing conditions to ensure new apartments are built near public transit, make it easier to save up for a down payment and qualify for a mortgage. While the leader opposite has no real plan, we are delivering for Canadians.
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